Wall plug

ABSTRACT

A wall plug for supporting an object alongside a wall having a sleeve member with a wedge member on the end inserted in the wall, a supporting member with tapered shape and a circumferential slot within which the object is supported for the opposite end, and a screw member connecting the members on each of the ends of the plug.

United States Patent Mayer Aug. 5, 1975 [541 WALL PLUG 3.700206 10/1972Jones H 85/9 R [76] Inventor: Max Mayer, Ravensburger Str. 16, FORElGNENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 78 M rk rf. Germany 471179 7/1952 Italy 85/28 FiledDec 5 1973 747 649 [2/1966 Canada. 85/76 [2]] Appl. No.: 421,810 PrimaryE.\'aminerRoy D. Frazier Assixtan! Examiner-Robert A Hafer [52] U S C]248/210 248/733 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Karl W. Flocks [51] Int. Cl.E04G 3/00 [58] Field of Search 248/209, 71, 216, 232, [57] ABSTRACT248/233' 234; 85/74 76 28v 9 R A wall plug for supporting an ObJfiClalongside a wall having a sleeve member with a wedge member on the [56]Reierences Cited end inserted in the wall, a supporting member with ta-UNITED STATES PATENTS pered shape and a circumferential slot withinwhich the object is supported for the opposite end. and a ga screwmember connecting the members on each of the ep ey 4444 868,843 10/1907Clay .7 248/216 ends of the plug 2.099.098 11/1937 Binkle i. 248/71 6Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEU AUG 5 75 FIG-1 WALL PLUG Thisinvention relates to wall plugs for supporting ob jects such asradiators, or the like, of the kind comprising a sleeve member having afront end portion and a longitudinally slotted rear end portion forinsertion into a borehole of a wall, a supporting member adjacent thefront end portion of said sleeve member, having an at least partlycircumferential slot for accommodating an edge or the like of saidobject, a wedge member adjacent the rear end portion of said sleevemember, having a wedge shaped or conical surface for penetrating andexpanding said sleeve member, and a screw member extending axiallythrough said sleeve member and interconnecting said supporting memberand said wedge member.

Wall plugs of this type are known wherein the supporting member iscylindrical and equal in diameter to the sleeve member. Owing to thisconfiguration, it is possible to insert a wall plug of the kinddescribed into a borehole of a wall up to the middle of its totallength, for example, and then to place a radiator or similar heavyobject on the portion of the sleeve member projectin g from the wall andto secure the radiator or some other object with additional securingmeans known in the art, retaining it in its position such that itextends at a certain distance from the wall, for example in par allelthereto. Subsequently, the wall plug is pushed further into saidborehole, or hammered into it, for example, while a lower edge of theradiator or other object originally resting on the sleeve member slidesfrom the sleeve member to the supporting member and engages thecircumferential slot of the supporting member. Finally, the rear endportion of the sleeve member is ex panded in that either the screwmember itself or a nut disposed at the front end portion of the screwmember in front of the supporting member and bolted to the screw memberis turned, causing the screw member to draw the wedge member into therear end portion of said sleeve member.

It is desirable to provide as deep a circumferential slot as possible sothat the radiator or other object to be supported by the wall plug isactually securely supported in the circumferential slot. On the otherhand, it is desirable to use a sleeve member whose diameter is notunnecessarily large, for the greater the diameter of the sleeve member,the greater the hole required in the wall, of course, as well as theenergy spent when drilling the hole. Moreover, the price of a wall plugof the type described is raised considerably with the increasingdiameter of the sleeve member. At a given di ameter of the sleevemember, with known wall plugs, the depth of the circumferential slot ofthe supporting member is very limited especially when the supportingmember is not the head of the screw member at the same time, but isprovided with an axial through bore through which the screw memberextends.

In accordance with the invention, a wall plug of the kind described isimproved in that the supporting member has a first portion substantiallygreater in diameter than the sleeve member and a second portionseparated from said first portion by said slot and tapering in rearwarddirection so as to attain a rear diameter substantially equal to thediameter of said sleeve member.

The maximum diameter of the supporting member according to theinvention, which is large in proportion to the external diameter of thesleeve member, allows to dispose a circumferential or partlycircumferential slot of great radial depth at the supporting member inwhich the radiator or the like is securely supported. Theafore-mentioned second portion of the supporting member is conical orwedge-shaped and forms some kind of ramp. Thus, the radiator or otherobject, having first been placed on the sleeve member, during themounting operation, when the wall plug is driven into the wall can slideup to the highest point of the supporting member, whereafter it engagesthe slot.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description of three embodiments of the inventionillustrated in the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view in axial direction of a firstembodiment of the wall plug;

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view of the front end por tion of a secondembodiment of the wall plug;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the front end portion of a thirdembodiment of the wall plug; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the wall plug shown in FIG. 3.

The main elements of the wall plug illustrated in FIG. 1 are a sleevemember 12. a supporting member l4, a wedge member 16 and a screw member18.

The sleeve member 12 is made of sheet metal, for example galvanizedsheet steel, and has a front end portion 20 as well as a rear endportion 22. The rear end portion 22 is provided with at least onelongitudinal slot 24; the illustrated embodiment is provided with twosuch slots diametrically opposed. The slots 24 extend from the apex of atriangular recess 26 each disposed at the rear end portion 22 and endabout midway of the total length of said sleeve member 12.

The supporting member 14 consists of plastic material, such aspolyamide, and comprises a first portion 28, a second portion 30 and athird portion 32. The first portion 28 is substantially cylindrical andis considerably greater in diameter than said sleeve member l2. Thesecond portion 30 has the same diameter as the first portion 28 only inthe area of its front end and tapers in rearward direction in the mannerof a frustum whose small base has a diameter identical with the externaldiameter of the sleeve member 12. The third portion 32 of the supportingmember 14 extends from the small base of the second portion 30 axiallyin rearward direction and snugly engages the front end portion 20 of thesaid sleeve member 12. The first portion 28 is separated from the secondportion 30 by a circumferential slot 34. An axial through bore 36extends through the entire supporting member 14.

The wedge member 16 is substantially cylindrical and has an externaldiameter which is just as great or only slightly smaller than that ofthe sleeve member 12. The front section of the wedge member 16 iswedge-shaped and engages the recesses 26 at the rear end portion 22 ofthe sleeve member 12 which prevents it from rotating with respect to thesleeve member 12. Alternatively, the front section of the wedge member16 may be a frustum and the recesses 26 may be omitted. A tapholeaxially extends through the wedge member 16.

The screw member 18 extends through the through bore 36 of thesupporting member 14 and is screwed into the taphole of the wedge member16. In the embodiment illustrated, the screw member 18 comprises at itsfront end portion a lenticular head 38 integral with said screw member,said heat bang accommodated in a corresponding indentation of the firstportion 28 of the supporting member I4. However, just as at its rear endportion, the screw member 18 could be provided with a thread at itsfront end portion, onto which thread a nut replacing the head 38 may bescrewed. It is also possible for the screw member I8 to be integral withthe supporting member 14. In this case, the supporting member 14, justas the screw member 18, is preferably made of steel or another metalalloy; the supporting member itself forming the head of the screw member18.

The wall plug described, in the state illustrated in FIG. 1, can easilybe inserted in a hole 42 drilled in a wall 40, the diameter of said hole42 being somewhat greater than the outer diameter of the sleeve member12. When about half the length of the sleeve member 12 has entered thehole 42, a radiator 44 or some other object to be fastened to the wall40 is placed on the portion of the sleeve member 12 projecting from thewall 40, as indicated in broken lines in FIG. 1. The radiator 44 is thenconnected to the wall 40 with the aid of additional securing means (notillustrated) such as screws in such a manner that the space desiredbetween the radiator 44 and the wall 40 can be determined while theradiator can still be moved perpendicularly.

Subsequently. the wall plug is pressed or hammered deeper into theborehole 42. The lower edge of the radiator 44 then slides from thesleeve member 12 and onto the frustoconical second portion of the supporting member 14 in upward direction until it engages the slot 34, asindicated in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 1.

In the wall plug shown in FIG. 2, the sleeve member l2, the wedge member16 and the screw member 18 are no different from the corresponding partsin FIG. 1. What is different is only the configuration of the supportingmember which, for this reason, is designated 14' as a whole in FIG. 2.The individual parts of the supporting member 14' are numbered in thesame manner as the corresponding parts of the supporting member 14 inFIG. I, but are also indexed, of course.

The first portion 28' in FIG. 2 is identical with the first portion 28in FIG. 1. However, in contrast to the circumferential slot 34, thecircumferential slot 34' is disposed excentrically. The second portion30' of the supporting member 14' has a smaller angle of opening andaccordingly extends further back than the second portion 30 of thesupporting member 14. Instead of the third portion 32 provided in linewith FIG. 2, a lug 32' is provided in FIG. 3 extending from the bottomof an axial recess of the second portion 30' in rearward direction. Justas the third portion 32 in FIG. 1, the lug 32 engages the front endportion 20 of the sleeve member 18 substantially free from play; anotherdifference in comparison with FIG. I is, though, that the sleeve member18 as such extends into the second portion 30'. This is a particularlysafe way of preventing that the supporting member 14' tilts with respectto the supporting member 14. The supporting member I4, however, isadapted to be rotatable with respect to the sleeve member 12 so that,owing to the excentricity of the slot 34', the height of a radiator 44whose lower edge has engaged the slot 34', may be adjusted by turn 4 ingthe supporting member 14'.

The wall plug illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is only differentiated fromthe one shown in FIG. 1 in that the supporting member designated 14"there, has a partly cylindrical underside 46 being in alignment with thecircumferential surface of the sleeve member 12. Thus it is possible. tosecure a partly cylindrical additional re taining member 48 at theunderside of the wall plug. The additional retaining member 48 isprovided for giving additional support to certain types of radiator orfor mounting additional apparatus, such as heat measuring devices.

What I claim is:

I. A.wall plug for supporting objects, such as radiators or the like,comprising a sleeve member having a front end portion and alongitudinally slotted rear end portion for insertion into a borehole ofa wall,

a supporting member mounted adjacent the front end portion of saidsleeve member, having an at least .partly circumferential slot foraccommodating an edge or the like of said object,

a wedge memberadjacent the rear end portion of said sleeve member,having a wedge-shaped or conical surface for penetrating and expandingsaid sleeve member, and

a screw member extending axially through said sleeve member andinterconnecting said supporting member and said wedge member in whichsaid supporting member has a first portion substantially greater indiameter than said sleeve member and a second portion separated fromsaid first portion by said slot and tapering in rearward direction so asto attain a rear diameter substantially equal to the diameter of saidsleeve member, the tapering part of said second portion forming asliding surface over which the object being supported can move into theslot in said supporting member.

2. A wall plug as in claim 1 in which said supporting member has a thirdportion extending axially away in rearward direction from said secondportion and en gaging the front end portion of said sleeve member.

3. A wall plug as in claim 1 in which the second portion of saidsupporting member has an axial recess accommodating the front endportion of said sleeve member.

4. A wall plug as in claim 1 in which the second portion of saidsupporting member has an axial recess accommodatingthe front end portionof said sleeve member, a lug extending axially away in rearwarddirection from the bottom of said recess and engaging the front endportion of said sleeve member.

5. A wall plug as in claim I in which the bottom of said circumferentialslot in said supporting member is eccentrical with respect to the commonlongitudinal axis of said sleeve member and said screw member.

6. A wall plug as in claim 1 in which said supporting member has apartly cylindrical underside being in alignment with the circumferentialsurface of said sleeve member.

1. A wall plug for supporting objects, such as radiators or the like,comprising a sleeve member having a front end portion and alongitudinally slotted rear end portion for insertion into a borehole ofa wall, a suppoRting member mounted adjacent the front end portion ofsaid sleeve member, having an at least partly circumferential slot foraccommodating an edge or the like of said object, a wedge memberadjacent the rear end portion of said sleeve member, having awedge-shaped or conical surface for penetrating and expanding saidsleeve member, and a screw member extending axially through said sleevemember and interconnecting said supporting member and said wedge memberin which said supporting member has a first portion substantiallygreater in diameter than said sleeve member and a second portionseparated from said first portion by said slot and tapering in rearwarddirection so as to attain a rear diameter substantially equal to thediameter of said sleeve member, the tapering part of said second portionforming a sliding surface over which the object being supported can moveinto the slot in said supporting member.
 2. A wall plug as in claim 1 inwhich said supporting member has a third portion extending axially awayin rearward direction from said second portion and engaging the frontend portion of said sleeve member.
 3. A wall plug as in claim 1 in whichthe second portion of said supporting member has an axial recessaccommodating the front end portion of said sleeve member.
 4. A wallplug as in claim 1 in which the second portion of said supporting memberhas an axial recess accommodating the front end portion of said sleevemember, a lug extending axially away in rearward direction from thebottom of said recess and engaging the front end portion of said sleevemember.
 5. A wall plug as in claim 1 in which the bottom of saidcircumferential slot in said supporting member is eccentrical withrespect to the common longitudinal axis of said sleeve member and saidscrew member.
 6. A wall plug as in claim 1 in which said supportingmember has a partly cylindrical underside being in alignment with thecircumferential surface of said sleeve member.